Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate, in general, to a system for monitoring a railway by synchronizing dynamic characteristics of a train moving along tracks and data for monitoring railway installations with a predetermined moving distance and, more particularly, to a system for monitoring a railway installation while repeatedly accumulating and processing data obtained by measuring a rail, a streetcar line, or a tunnel structure using a monitoring apparatus including a laser generator installed on a train, a camera for obtaining three-dimensional (3D) coordinates, and a measuring device that measures vibration of a train, etc.
Discussion of the Background
Railroad and streetcar lines should be always monitored for structural integrity and safety since subway trains or trains moving along tracks are likely to be derailed. However, it's challenging to thoroughly monitor railroads and streetcar lines for safety-assurance purposes since a moving distance is long and monitoring should be performed within a short period during which trains do not move. Thus, there is a need to develop a new method of monitoring railroads and streetcar lines. In the case of subway trains moving through a subway tunnel, deteriorating tunnel structures are major targets to be safety-checked. However, it is not easy to detect cracks occurring in a deteriorating tunnel. Thus, there is a need to develop a method of continuously safety-checking railway installations. Also, although data regarding a major position is measured and obtained, the data is difficult to compare and analyze with respect to a baseline when the data is not synchronized with a measurement position.
When railroads, streetcar lines, and tunnel structures are monitored, data thereof should be obtained at the same measurement position to exactly compare the data with a baseline. That is, a fine change in a rail may be detected when data obtained at the same measurement position is continuously compared with the baseline, but is difficult to detect when data obtained at a non-fixed measurement position is compared with the baseline. However, inconvenience may be caused to a user when the current method of the related art (e.g., a method of accumulatively estimating a distance based on a rotational speed of a wheel, a method of estimating a distance by performing integral calculation using an acceleration sensor, or a method of detecting a location based on an image) is used to detect the location of a train. Thus, since it is inevitable that an error will occur, a method of initializing data after a train is stopped may be used to compensate for accumulated errors.
If data is measured when a measurement position is not fixed, safety repair work is hardly influenced by a distance error when the position of a change in a tunnel structure (cracks, a falling object, etc.) is roughly detected, but is greatly influenced by a distance error when a tiny abnormal change occurs in a rail or a streetcar line.
Also, when an image is processed using a camera that has been frequently suggested as a data measuring device, the amount of light should be high to obtain an image and a surface of a metallic structure, such as a rail, should be corrected due to scattering of reflected light. When a scanning method involving a laser is used, a change in a tunnel structure can be effectively detected when a train moves at low speeds but the detection of the change in the tunnel structure is limited when the train moves at high speeds.
Korean registered patent No. 10-1111569 entitled “System and method for monitoring railway installation using tracked vehicle” discloses a railway installation monitoring system including an information obtaining device configured to obtain and store images of a tunnel structure, tracks, and a streetcar line while a monitoring camera installed in a tracked vehicle is moved and to store noise and vibration data collected using a sensor unit installed in the tracked vehicle, and a server unit configured to receive the data collected by the information obtaining device, store the data in a database, and provide images stored in the database and the data to a situation room terminal to check the images and the data.
However, the system described above is disadvantageous in that data regarding a rail, a streetcar line, sleepers, and a tunnel structure is difficult to synchronize to a measuring position. In particular, a distance error is likely to occur in the case of items for which precise distance measurement is required, such as a rail and a streetcar line.
Furthermore, since images are captured by a camera without consideration of a moving speed and distance of a train, the same image is likely to be repeatedly captured to decrease the efficiency of storing and increase a time required for a safety check.